It’s unlikely that this lockdown will be lifted any time soon

It is hard to think of a prime minister doing something that so goes against their political instincts as Boris Johnson declaring that people can only leave their homes for a list of state-approved activities. One of the constants of his political and journalistic career has been his opposition to the state infringing on people’s liberties. But the coronavirus and the public health challenges posed by a pandemic have forced him to shift.

The fact that the authorities will be able to enforce these new rules is a big shift from Sunday’s press conference when Boris Johnson seemed taken aback by the idea that the police could be asked to enforce the rules on social distancing. But there was a sense in government that there could not be a repeat of the scenes on the London tube this morning — when carriages were frequently packed in breach of the social distancing guidelines.